


Susan's Great Escape

by killerdrummerkitty (LonelyMusings), LonelyMusings



Category: Monsters vs Aliens (2009)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Character Development, Character Study, Dr. C definitely smokes, Escape, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, exploring characterization and dynamics, insectosaurus is nowhere to be found, maybe in chapter 2 we'll see, no shipping sorry just action
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 00:15:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13986345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyMusings/pseuds/killerdrummerkitty, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyMusings/pseuds/LonelyMusings
Summary: After a week in prison, Susan decides to escape. I've always had a headcanon that Link and Susan took a while to warm up to each other.I doubt anyone is looking for MvA content in 2k18, but if you are, know that I support you and this is just for you. Written in a fit of nostalgic, hyperfixated rage.





	1. Run and Hide

She had to get out. She would, somehow. After a week in prison, her depression had turned to desperation. The facility was well run, but there were certainly some chinks in its armor. The other 4 monsters had been in for fifty years, and stopped trying to escape decades ago. She guessed few to none of the current employees, besides Monger, had ever even experienced a breakout attempt. Their routines had stagnated, and they didn’t expect her to try to escape. Susan counted on that. 

God, her bed was uncomfy. It was just a steel slab with an understuffed pillow, she would have been just as well sleeping on the floor. They obviously didn’t have a fifty foot mattress on hand. She felt her spirits fall at the thought. This shouldn’t be possible, but here she was. Five stories tall and trapped in a government facility. She felt tears welling in her eyes again and she forced herself to snap back to planning. As soon as she broke out, Derek would be waiting for her. They’d figure something out together, they’d get her back to normal. She would sleep curled up in the backyard until then if she had to. Dr. Cockroach had tried once so far to shrink her down, to no avail. He seemed just as frustrated as she was, and swore he’d find a way. It meant a lot to Susan. But, as brilliant as he was, if she could get back home, she was sure the top doctors in the world would be eager to find a cure. Or, eager to experiment on her… Either way, at least she wouldn’t be in prison, at least she would be back with Derek. He was probably worried sick.

It seemed like most of the personnel lived in the compound, but at night there were less people around, as the researchers and staff went to bed, leaving only night guards. Very few of the guards had actual guns, and they were mostly sanctioned guarding entrances. The monster guards all seemed to have tasers and stun guns, which might have stopped Link or Doc, but probably couldn’t take her down. 

They did have large tranquilizer darts just for her, though. She had been tranqued a few weeks back, after her second nervous breakdown. Link and Dr. Cockroach were both especially displeased, because in her fall she flattened their table, radio, and the mad scientist’s latest project. She was also pretty sure that all the cells, except the observation tanks, were independently movable, to minimize monster-to-human contact. She had heard the doctor mention it once or twice, and it would explain why her room clanked about like an elevator each morning. Therefore, she was led to believe that if she could use the smaller, open cells as a grip, she could throw open the larger door and wind up somewhere advantageous. Other than that, the plan was simple. Wait til they called her back to her cell for the night, and then bash her way out.

The next day was a normal one, despite the anxiety Susan felt leading up to that evening. She kept to herself and thought her plan over and over again. It had to work. The past escape attempts were all made by the human-sized monsters. Susan was confident if she got going, they couldn’t stop her. They weren’t prepared to. She grimaced again thinking about the size difference. Well, she thought, she’d use it to her advantage for now. Hopefully she’d be normal soon enough. Hopefully. She had begun teaching herself to beat down the monstrous doubt that said she would be this way forever.

“She seems more quiet than usual,” Dr. Cockroach was taking a break from inventing. He had his feet up at the table with a cigarette in one hand and a few cards in the other. Susan’s other cellmates were gathered around, playing Go Fish.   
“She’s quiet every day.” Link scoffed, rearranging his hand. The ape much preferred games with a little more skill involved, like poker. He had found though, that Go Fish was about as sophisticated a game as Bob could play.   
“Why don’t we invite Susan to play with us?” Bob’s face lit up. “I wonder if she knows Go Fish-Ape.” Link rolled his eyes, both at the suggestion and at the punny misnomer.  
“Just leave ‘er be, she obviously doesn’t want anything to do with us.” He shot an accusatory glance at the giant, who was staring into space at the other side of the yard.   
“Now Link, you can’t be serious. She’s had her whole life turned upside down very suddenly. She’s scared and lonely.” The doctor took a drag of his cigarette and tapped it off elegantly into his ashtray.   
“Yeah, her. Scared.” Link returned his gaze to the cards and thumbed them idly. Cockroach had known Link for close to fifty years, and could see now that he was very intimidated by their new roommate. However, he also knew bringing it up would puncture his swollen ego. Considering how nasty Link had been towards her this week, Dr. C opted not to tease him, which might have been the usual response. Link also had very little experience with women, and humans in general, so he had mistaken Susan’s recent curtness as a challenge of his dominance. The doctor however, recognized the emotional response as it was: fear. The scaly ape had been the baddest inmate for most of his waking life, and now, even though he talked big game, he knew he couldn’t muscle Ginormica around. That being said, Dr. Cockroach felt very sorry for the girl, and wanted desperately for Link to get out of the stone age. He sent a pout toward his friend and cocked an eyebrow. Link returned the eye contact and snorted. “Fine.”  
He wetly slapped his cards onto the table and leaned back in his chair, so as to face vaguely in her direction.   
“Hey Gigant- uh, Ginormica. You wanna play cards, or what?”

Susan gave a grunt of discontent and looked out across the room.  
“That’s not my name,” She growled. She was getting really sick of this fish-guy, and fast. 

“Told you.” Link picked his cards up again. Dr. Cockroach extinguished the last of his cigarette and stood.  
“You’re insufferable.” He mumbled.  
“Your turn, Bob.” Link and the blob continued the game as the doctor approached the giantess.

Dr. Cockroach adjusted his coat and his collar, folding his arms behind his back. He noticed his antennae twitching, and he urgently smoothed them down. He recognized that, as much as he was a rational man, he was still at least a little frightened the giantess. His panicked antennae gave it away. He supposed the insect in him had a healthy fear of being crushed. She had her head resting on her knees, and it seemed she didn’t see him coming yet. 

“Ah- Susan,” He reached out a tentative hand and placed it on her ankle. She jumped and pulled her leg away, lifting her head upright in an instant. Her eyes found the doctor retreating his hand to behind his back once again. “Forgive me, dear. I would like to extend a more sincere invitation to play cards, and to apologize for Link as well.” 

“It’s ok, it’s not your fault.” Susan stretched out her legs and placed her hands in her lap. “And uh, thank you doctor, but,” She reconsidered for a moment. Sitting by herself, she had begun to talk herself out of her big escape. Maybe if she could occupy herself, she could keep her will. “Actually, I will play cards. Thank you.”

“Wonderful! We’ll deal you right in.” Calmer now, Cockroach strode back to the table. Susan gave him a few yards headstart, then drew herself to her full height. Link’s ear fins twitched as he heard the giant stand. Bob whizzed his eye around to the other side of his head.  
“Susan! Great!” the blue mass chimed.  
“Great.” Link grumbled. Boy, she just got bigger the closer she got. The ape’s chair wobbled as she sat herself next to Doc, who lit up another cigarette. He was currently resting in the chair Susan had flattened a week ago. It was sent out for repairs, or rather reconstruction, but it still wasn’t quite the same. Not to mention, his radio was still out of commission. Link tossed that complaint into the pile, which he was sure was almost as tall as Ginormica herself by now. He snatched all the cards back and reshuffled, as Bob attempted to explain the rules to her. 

Surprisingly, Link played nice, and the card game went quite well. Susan could confidently say that had been the most fun she had had in prison up to that point. Even The Missing Link admitted, albeit silently, that he was still having a good time. The mad doctor leaned back, admiring his work. Bob was absolutely gleeful, adding another friend to his circle. Link had only begun to deal the 3rd round of cards when the alarm went off, signaling the monsters to return to their cells.   
“UUUGGHH.” Bob threw his head back and dropped his cards. “We were having so much fun!” He folded his arms and pouted, his singular eye looking particularly moist.  
“It’s alright Bob, we’ll play more tomorrow.” The doctor cooed, reassuring him with a pat on the back. Link laid the rest of the cards on the table, and tried not to give off the impression that he wouldn’t mind playing with Susan again. 

Susan stood and exhaled, preparing herself. It’s now or never, Murphy. You can do this. The door motors whirred and halted, open just far enough for the shorter monsters to enter. Just enough for her to grab on. She took a few awkward steps forward, for good measure, and then whipped around as fast as she could. Her footfalls thundered through the room as she accelerated towards the cracked doors, a full-tilt-fifty-foot fury. Link shrieked and ran, Doc gasped and scuttled out of the way, and Bob stayed put. Her right foot landed squarely in the blue blob, and the giant took a mighty tumble. She struck the ground full force, narrowly missing the other two as they dove out of the way yet again. Link was knocked off his knuckles by the impact. Bob detached himself from her shoe and quickly she stood again, sticking as much of her hands as she could fit in the smaller doors. With a semi-solid grip, she curled her arms upward, and the larger door started to give way. The motors groaned and an alarm began to sound, but Susan couldn’t even hear it over the adrenaline. With a grunt, she kept pulling, until the hatch was maybe thirty feet off the ground.

“What’s she doing?” Doc stood and brushed himself off. Link was grinning devilishly from gill to gill.   
“What’s it look like doc? Suzy’s busting out.”

Susan crouched and her hunch was confirmed, an empty loading bay waited on the other side. She crawled through the opening and took off, as fast as her long legs could carry her. A few odd guards could be heard shouting, and running frantically at the new exit. Walkie-talkies began buzzing with the breaking news that Ginormica was loose. Link threw himself into the hallway, raised his arms, and roared. The guards shrieked, giving the remaining trio just enough time.

“C’mon, Bob!” The cockroach screeched, scuttling out behind Link. Bob raced off after them as sleepy guards fought to remember protocol. The doctor and Bob wheeled off after Link, who turned the opposite direction from Susan’s path, down an empty vestibule. 

“Uh, shouldn’t we be following Susan?” Bob asked.

“Of course not, that’s where the guards are.” Link panted, knuckles slapping steel as he ran. Cockroach dropped down to all fours and began scuttling at full speed. He shot a questioning glance at the ape, between checking the hall in front of him.

“But what if she needs our help?”

“She’s five stories tall for crying out loud, why would she need our help? Trust me-” Link cut himself off to peer around the next corner. He motioned that the coast was clear and resumed stride. “Our best shot is without her.” 

Exit, exit, exit-- Susan’s eyes searched frantically for that word. She couldn’t find it anywhere. The sounds of guards shouting began to fill the empty corridor between the echoes of each step she took. Shoot, Susan, faster! She took a sharp turn to her left to see EXIT blazoned in tactical red stencil. The corridor opened into the cavernous expanse of the prison, and a transport platform awaited her. Up in the ceiling, a massive vent shone moonlight through the slats. Perfect! She skidded out onto the platform and crouched low to the manual control panel. Crap, it had a locked cover. It was too small to get a good grip on, and smashing it ran the risk of sending her further downward. “Agh!” Susan stood and ran back the way she came, taking one giant stride over the guards catching up to her. They all shouted as she loomed over them, “Halt!” “Stop!” “Freeze!” But they couldn’t stop her now. She was so close! Disheveled day guards appeared out of elevators, their stun guns fully charged. She practically had to dance around each squadron to avoid stepping on them, but she continued as fast as she could towards another way out. Suddenly the engines of gyrocopters fired up in the hallways she passed, but she just kept pushing. One flew directly out in front of her; she caught it by the tail and pitched it down the next corridor. She prayed it didn’t crash but she didn’t have time to check. 

“Where are we going?” Bob asked, for probably the fourth time. The Missing Link wailed in annoyance.  
“We’re escaping, Bob! We’re getting out of here!” He bellowed, losing breath steadily. “We’re getting to the jumbo jet again. It almost worked last time, and now we’ve got a better distraction.”  
Dr. Cockroach was silent. He should have run after Susan, he should have stood up to Link, he should have acted on his own accord. The thought of them escaping, with that poor girl still trapped alone, made him nauseous. And yet, he kept scuttling along. He shook his head, and with a frustrated exclamation he ran himself up the wall and back in the opposite direction.   
“Doc?” Bob slowed and watched the bug-man scurry away. Link turned at Bob’s voice and saw the cockroach disappearing down the hallway.   
“What are you DOING?” he roared, throwing his hands with defeat. The doctor said nothing, and was soon out of sight. “Agh!” Link rubbed his furrowed brow and growled, absolutely fuming.   
“I think he’s going to help Susan,” The glob pointed out.   
“Whatever! We’ll go without him. I’m getting back to Cocoa Beach.” He stuck his thumb into his chest. Link turned, but Bob didn’t budge.   
“I don’t wanna leave him, Link.”

Frantically she read the walls, looking for a direction. EMERGENCY EXIT caught her eye, at mid-shin height. She almost tripped making a pinpoint pivot in the direction of the red arrow. She followed it intensely, not looking further down the hallway. When she reached the end of the line, there it was. A standard, human-sized door. She could get barely as much as her forearm through it. Susan leaned her forehead on the wall, to exhausted and frustrated to cry out. She panted heavily, feeling defeat overtake her. The place was an absolute labyrinth. Then, mechanical voice ripped her from her spell.

“GINORMICA, HALT.” The copilot of a gyrocopter boomed through a megaphone, as he hovered at eye-level at the mouth of the hall. Without really thinking, Susan turned and took two steps towards the chopper. The pilots screamed, and their aircraft wavered. She reached out a hand to push it out of her way, but the copilot fired. A large syringe, much like the one she saw on her wedding day, stuck firmly into her shoulder. The effect was almost immediate. She staggered back a step, but her fingers hadn’t even reached the barrel by the time her eyelids began to droop. Her hand fumbled sideways, gripping onto the metal catwalk, and as she swayed it was ripped like paper from the wall. Her legs finally buckled beneath her, and the giantess collapsed, unconscious.


	2. With the Rest of Us

Dr. Cockroach was whizzing around on the ceiling, so far unnoticed. His cockroach senses felt the exact direction from which the vibrations were coming, and he followed them blindly. The way the metal infrastructure echoed made it sound like Susan and the guards were everywhere at once. He heard the gyrocopters roar to life, and quickened his pace. Thus far he had no plan, but he’d figure something out. He always did. He felt himself getting closer, the vibrations getting stronger with every step he took. Then at that, they stopped. All he had to go by was the guards and the whirring of the gyrocopters. Either Susan had done it, or she froze. He kept straight ahead, but more cautiously. 

 

A few stomps, two screams, the screech of tearing metal, and a thud so profound it shook him from the ceiling. Luckily again for his insect genes, the doctor was unharmed. He stood and slowly leaned around the next corner, to see Susan tranquilized on the floor, the collateral scattered around her. The guards were apprehensive, and refused to come within several feet of her. They mumbled amongst themselves until the doctor made out the warden’s voice on a walkie-talkie. His eyes widened, but he didn’t dare make a sound. If Monger was up, they were all in ginormous trouble. He scuttled back the way he came, only to find Link and Bob around the corner. Bob’s face lit up immediately. Of course, he couldn’t keep his big blue mouth shut.

 

“Hey, Doc!” Bob yelled, waving his hand frantically so the scientist would see. Link and Doc froze, their eyes locked. All the guards fell silent. A walkie-talkie cut in. 

“Was that- Bob?” The rough Texas accent was palpable through the static. The monsters turned to run, but were met with more guards. Turning back, Susan’s guards had rounded the corner. They were surrounded.

  
  


Susan began to stir, the familiar tranq hangover apparent before she even opened her eyes. Her shoulder was sore from the injection. Her cell was unusually bright, so she reached for her pillow. The pathetic thing was nowhere to be found. She opened her eyes with a groan, only to realize she wasn’t in her bed, but on the floor of her observation tank. Not that there was much of a difference. 

 

“Well good morning, Sunshine!” Monger’s voice boomed from the loudspeaker. After a few blinks, she could make out his silhouette in the control tower outside the glass. “After your great escape last night, I’ve decided a week of observation is in order, while we install deadbolts on all the panels in the yard.” Ugh. Susan rolled over. She hated observation. Her second and third days were spent half in observation, half in the yard. It was the most miserable, boring, and violating thing she could ask for. Stuck in a fishbowl, with a government agent assigned to watch her like a hawk. Her tired brain couldn’t even process she was in for a full week of it. 

“Nice goin’ Suz,” link’s voice sounded like gravel. Dr. Cockroach’s homemade intercom didn’t help. She did her best to ignore him.

“Would you leave the poor woman alone?” The doctor’s voiced buzzed through.

“Why do you keep defending her? We’re in observation for a week because she thought she knew better when we told her there was no getting out.” Susan clamped her eyes shut tighter. She supposed she deserved a little berating. 

“You ran out right after her. Stop acting like this is all her fault.” Wait, what? Susan decided to stand up. She wasn’t gonna take this from Link if he ran out too. She finally had some ground in an argument with him. She pressed herself close to the glass, so she could see the other tanks in the block. She noticed for the first time that her tank was just as big as the other three, which wasn’t fair at all. They all had room to swim or scurry or slither around, whereas she could barely pace. Link chimed in again, ignoring Doc.

“Not to mention my radio is still squashed, thanks to Ginormica over here.” Link was treading water at her eye level. He knew he was pushing her buttons, and he was waiting on her to go off. 

“Yeah? Well I’m sorry I actually have a life to get back to outside this place.” She sneered. 

“You’re lucky you’re big, you know that?” Susan felt her blood boil. “You wouldn’t last a day in here if you weren’t.”

“If I wasn’t big I wouldn’t be here. And I won’t be for longer. Doctor Cockroach is figuring it out.” She was trying her hardest to stay confident, but she felt herself getting choked up. 

“If you’ve got so much faith in him, why’d you try to escape, huh?” Link had an accusatory finger pressed to the glass. Susan opened her mouth, but no words came out.

“That’s what I thought. He’s a quack and you know it. And you’re stuck here with the rest of us.” The tightness in Susan’s throat threatened to constrict her. She couldn’t turn away, couldn’t say a word, only stand there as pressure consumed her. Her knuckles went white, and with a grunt she punched clean through the glass. Link pushed himself away from the wall and sunk a few feet. Dr. Cockroach, who had shut off his intercom after Link called him a quack, rushed to his glass to see what had happened. 

“Ginormica, stand down!” Monger’s voice echoed again from the control tower.

“That’s not my NAME!” Still white-knuckled, Susan turned away from the glass to keep herself from swinging again. Motors whirred behind the back wall and Susan felt all her rage melt into hollowing, soul-crushing dejection. She kept her back to the glass, not wanting the other monsters or their observers to see tears roll down her cheeks. The back panel opened up. 

“Get back in your cell.” The loudspeaker boomed, and Susan obeyed. Her fingers uncurled, shaking as she sulked into the darkness. The door sealed her in, shielding her from view.

 

“Geez, Link, that was really mean.” Bob piped in for the first time. 

“Why are you being so vicious to this poor girl?” The doctor huffed, turning his intercom back on. 

“He was really mean to you too, doc,” The cockroach waved him off. At least he had experience dealing with Link. Susan did not. 

“What has she done to you, besides exist in this space?” Link crossed his arms and rested at the bottom of the tank. He was starting to feel bad.

“She crushed my chair and my radio, she’s rude, and- and-” The ape’s mouth fumbled.

“Yeah, but I ate the last radio.” The blob furthered.

“And how many times have I raided them for parts? I must say, I have never seen you act so cruelly.” The doctor had to keep himself from hissing. It was a nasty habit that came with his cockroach side. 

The Missing Link’s defensive shoulders drooped, feeling guilt settle on them. He hated when doc was right, he hated that he was defending her, even Bob! Some oversized broad just decided to waltz in and shake things up. Things had been fine for decades til she barged in. But, it wasn’t her fault, she was a prisoner just like him. He’d rather be chasing women around on Coco beach, and she’d rather be off honeymooning with, was it Darryl? Whatever. She never shut up about him. His thoughts were whirring so fast he couldn’t keep up, and each lap they took around his head made him feel more and more guilty. He looked up and saw doc staring at him with those big, googly eyes. It was too much. With a defiant jab, Link flipped the intercom off and went to brood out of sight.

 

The general rubbed his temples. The personnel in the observation tower stood on edge, and tried not to make it obvious they were staring. They wouldn’t leave their posts, but could tell Monger was about to lose his cool.

“That giant’s destroying my base!” He wailed, pounding a knee into his thigh. “And she’s not even trying!” He forced an exhale and recomposed himself, soldier-straight. 

“Sir,” One of the controllers piped in.

“Yes, Private,” his voice was unnervingly calm. 

“It’s unlawful for us to keep Ginormica in her cell for the remainder of the week. Protocol states we house her in the yard in solitary.” The private winced in anticipation. 

“I’m aware of the protocol, nerd!” The general boomed, pushing the back of the private’s desk chair and sending him spinning. “Give her an hour to cool off. Then let her in the yard.” He snarled and strapped his jetpack back on after removing it from its mount on the wall. He pushed the emergency hatch open and leapt out, engines ablaze. 


	3. The First Time

Susan’s eyes stung from crying. She hadn’t gone a day without it since she got here. None of this should be possible! Her life had shot from one extreme to the other on the spectrum of normalcy and she was still reeling from the impact. Never before had she been so unsure of her future. Her whole life it seemed she knew what to expect, knew what was coming next. And now… she didn’t. She didn’t even know herself anymore. Instead of being married, house hunting, working a normal job, she was now the type of person who tried to escape from prison, punched holes in walls, and hung out with literal monsters. Not to mention this new body of hers. Sure, mostly it was still the same, but it was so much bigger, so much stronger than she was used to. The physics of everything change when you’re that tall, like how long it took the water to soak her hair in the shower, how her clothes folded around her, how the metal of the prison echoed under her feet. Sure, maybe she looked the same, aside from the hair, but every little thing about her felt so- alien. It was absolutely overwhelming. And in the stark, steely walls of the prison, surrounded by people and things that seemed so miniscule to her, there was nothing to take her mind off it. 

Her cell began to clank and rattle once more, signaling she was descending into the yard. She sat herself up on her bed and tried to compose herself, wiping her face. The front panel pulled up and harsh light flooded the dim chamber. Monger was waiting, floating on his jet pack. Susan approached the opening, not surprised to see she was the only monster there. Instead of hovering directly in front of her face, the general spoke to her from just out of arm’s reach.   
“Now we can’t keep you in your cell for a full week, and we can’t keep you in a broken tank, so you’re gonna have the yard to yourself for awhile. But if you so much as dent another wall in this prison, we’ll have to make an exception!” The general’s instinct was to get up close and personal to deliver a remark like that, but he forced himself to stay out of the giant’s immediate reach. Susan noticed. “Are we clear?”

“We’re clear,” Susan sighed.  
“Good. All doors in the yard have been powered off and locked for construction, so I doubt you’ll be able to pull off another breakout while you’re here. I expect you on your best behavior.” The general flew off, leaving Susan alone. She walked towards her table and solitary chair, hearing her every movement echo back at her. She sat, and rested her head in her arms on the tabletop.

The time alone did Susan some good, she got to think for once without the eyes of the other monsters upon her, and though she was still being watched, the yard felt far less intrusive than her tank. And with no little monsters running around, Susan pretended for a while she wasn’t a giant. Every now and then, the smaller table would appear in her periphery, but she ignored or dismissed it the best she could. 

Protocol required the base provide enrichment for the monsters. Unlike human prisons, there were no specific laws to adhere to regarding exercise and sport for the monsters, but it was unanimously understood that cabin fever was to be avoided at all costs. Monger and some of the long-time employees still had the scars from a very bored and very frustrated Link, when he was first incarcerated. Ginormica had thrown the enrichment team for a loop. She was, in essence, human, so figuring out what to give her wasn’t hard. Scaling those things up to be useful was the hard part. Most of the personnel hadn’t ever seen her, but rumor spread quickly through the base. Even the workers without access to monster holding areas could still see the aftermath of that night throughout the base. The catwalk ripped from the wall, the dents in the floor where she fell, the busted up gyrocopters that she swatted out of the air like flies. The enrichment team did not want her bored.

While they were busy printing extra-large copies of books and magazines, the team had managed to produce a suitable unlined notepad and a few pencils. It took Ginormica a few tries to get used to writing without snapping the pencils or tearing the paper, but she soon developed a light enough touch. She never considered herself much of an artist, but with nothing else to do, doodling became a primary pastime. She tried to draw Derek, but her sketches didn’t come out well at all. There was always something off about his face, and she either couldn’t place it or couldn’t fix it each time she tried. At one point she looked down, seeing an army of misshapen Dereks, all looking disapprovingly at her. She crumpled that piece up and pushed it off the table. She gave drawing herself a try. It was certainly easier than drawing someone else, she thought. She put herself in her wedding dress and scrawled some flowers around herself. It was no masterpiece, but it was calming to look at. Satisfied and a bit more confident, Susan attempted to draw the other monsters from memory. 

In the end, Monger only kept the monsters apart for 4 days. They were behaving well, and he thought Ginormica had learned her lesson. That morning, as Susan’s cell door slid open, she was surprised to see the others emerging from their own holds.   
“Good Morning, Susan,” Dr. Cockroach called cheerily, as if nothing had happened.   
“SUSAN!” Bob gasped, slithering full-tilt towards the giant. He flung two freshly extruded arms around her ankle and hugged it as tight as he could. Susan felt her heart leap, and she crouched down to greet the blob. “I missed you so much! I haven’t seen you since the wedding!” he wailed. Susan chuckled and opted not to correct him. He suddenly snapped out of melancholy and beamed up at her. “What have you been doing all week? And what’s that?” he pointed at the pencil behind her ear. The day before she had accidentally brought it back to her room, and she tucked it there this morning so she wouldn’t forget it.   
“It’s a pencil, see?” she said, removing it from her hair and offering it to him.  
“Wow! Would you look at the size of that!” he took it and spun around, holding it above his head. With those words, Susan was dropped back into reality. Without much time to dwell, an electronic beeping announced the arrival of their breakfast. Silver tubes descended from the ceiling and dropped each monster’s meal in place. Link sat down and began eating without a word, but Cockroach gave him an expression that said he wouldn’t get off so easily. Link continued to chew very slowly, knowing full well how the doctor felt about him talking with his mouth full. After a few moments he couldn’t keep the charade up for any longer, and swallowed. The doctor cleared his throat gently and traced a line between Link and Susan with his eyes. The Missing Link sighed.  
“Hey, Susan,” he rumbled, his voice still craggy with sleep. Susan looked up, or rather down, from her oatmeal. “I, uh, wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said the other day.” Dr. Cockroach continued staring at him, encouraging him to deliver the entire message. “You’re going through a lot right now and I was being a jerk.”  
“Oh,” Susan was a little taken aback. She never expected an apology from Link, much less one that sounded so sincere. Maybe she had him pegged wrong. “Well, thank you,” she added. They all continued eating quietly.   
Dr. Cockroach noted that Susan actually was, in fact, eating. It was the first time he had seen her interested in the food she was served. He smiled softly to himself, confident she was in higher spirits today. Perhaps the time alone did everyone some good. 

“I have some good news for you, my dear,” the doctor called up to Susan, as soon as he finished his meal. “I’ve spent the last few days drawing up schematics and collecting parts, and I expect to have another functioning prototype by this evening.”   
“That was quick,” Link retorted, not sounding particularly malevolent.   
“You’d be surprised what I can accomplish without distractions,” Dr. Cockroach returned. Susan smiled softly in response as she finished the last of her oatmeal.   
“That is good news! Thanks, doctor.” She moved to set her spoon down and accidentally elbowed her notepad, which tumbled to the floor.  
“Oh gosh,” she mumbled, leaning to pick it up, but not before Link and the Doc caught a glimpse of their likenesses.   
“Hey, that looks familiar,” the ape chided, knuckling over to the stack of paper. Susan began to retrieve it to her table, but Doc interrupted.  
“No, please Susan, we’d like to see!”   
“Oh, I don’t know…” The giantess turned the pad and held it close to her chest.  
“What’s going on?” Bob asked rather loudly.   
“Susan drew pictures of us,” Link added, before Susan could interject.   
“With a pencil?!” Bob zipped over to the two, now extremely eager.   
“Come now, dear, let’s have a look.”   
“Yeah, show us, Suz.” Link crossed his arms and nodded up at the pad. Susan looked down at her drawings, and then back at her waiting friends. What did she have to lose?   
“Alright,” she conceded, lowering the paper back to the floor. “But I’m warning you, I’m not an artist.”   
The other three looked over the drawings, smiles seizing their faces.  
“Would you look at that, they’re practically life-size.” Link mimicked the position of his image and compared.   
“Not bad at all, Susan!” The doctor crossed the pad to his portrait and inspected it carefully.  
“Aw, thanks guys,” Susan said, feeling a blush warm her cheeks.

“Well I don’t know about you two, but this looks nothing like me.” Bob furrowed a gelatinous brow at the sketch. It was simple, but to be fair, it was probably the most accurate of the three. “For one, it’s not even blue.”

Susan opened her mouth to explain, but decided against it. She and Link shared a knowing glance as Dr. Cockroach stepped in to attempt to explain the properties of graphite. He got nowhere fast.   
“Susan didn’t have blue, Bob,” The Missing Link interjected, as Doc became increasingly frustrated.  
“Oh.” The doctor was both relieved and a little annoyed that that was all it took. “But she still didn’t draw my antennaes,” the blob added. Dr. Cockroach tried to explain that he was the only monster with antennae, but before he got a word out, Bob extended two thin tendrils out of the top of his head.   
The look on the doctor’s face immediately drove Susan and Link into fits of laughter. Bob too got swept up in the giggling, and even Doc couldn’t resist a smile in spite of his defeat.   
“Wait, wait,” Link chuckled as the laughter died down. He turned to Susan and straightened his expression with some effort, before giving his best impression of the bug’s look. Susan erupted again with a laugh that shook the hollow walls of the prison, but none seemed to mind. As far as the other inmates could remember, it was the first time.


End file.
